Hello everyone,
Is there a word meaning love of words? And if not, how would one go about trying to introduce one?
Bibliophile is a lover of books
“Logophilia” springs to mind but I can’t find it in any of my print dictionaries. “Logophile” (a lover of words) is in the New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.
I should add that etymologically philology means love of words (or of learning) but it has developed a more technical definition that probably isn’t quite what you’re looking for.
linguaphile ?
I hope the words in question are of consenting age.
Otherwise it would be Wordperv.
Logophile seems to be it. I figured verbophile, but logophile has dozens of times the Google hits and more obviously means “lover of words”.
Trust bibliophage, who must be an eater of books.
Anu Garg at Wordsmith uses “linguaphile” just as **T. Slothrop ** suggested.
Thanks everyone. I think I’m going with logophile. During a discussion with colleagues (EFL teachers, what else?), it was decided that -phile had been unfortunately - perhaps irrevocably - tainted by its association with a certain prefix, so perhaps Myglaren’s wordperv isn’t too far off the mark. Anyway, I shall resolve to bat away childish snickers and proudly call myself a logophile henceforth.
Thanks again
A linguaphile is a lover of languages if you’re going by what the roots mean.
I’ve always heard “logophile.” I was such a grammar and spelling freak in high school that my friends dubbed me “Word Man.” I never had a cape, though.
If you’re going by what the roots mean, isn’t it a lover of tongue? That could be language, muscle, or food, but I think the muscle is the primary meaning.
I thought a lover of tongue was a cunnilinguaphile.
Cunnilinguaphilia - the love that loves you back.
Or a fellatiophile
Or your basic Francophile.
I’m gonna sell all my dictionaries and buy me a cape.